Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $245.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Darden Restaurants from $238 to $245 and kept a buy rating, implying about 16.4% upside from the current price.
• The latest quarter showed solid results: Darden reported EPS of $2.95, slightly ahead of estimates, on revenue of $3.35 billion, also above expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall, with 18 Buy ratings and a consensus Moderate Buy rating; meanwhile, insiders recently sold shares and institutional ownership remains high at 93.64%.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Citigroup from $238.00 to $245.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. Citigroup's price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.44% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.16.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $210.41. 576,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,342,975. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $24.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $198.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $198.72.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DRI. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.3% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 80,001 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $17,438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,045 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,183 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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